Two bucks found drowned at golf course

WOOD RIVER, Ill. (AP) - Apparently someone forgot to warn the deer around Wood River’s Belk Park Golf Course about the water hazards.

Course personnel found the bodies of two large whitetail bucks floating in the pond near Hole 16 Thursday morning.

Course manager Mike Brasher says it appears the two bucks locked antlers during a battle either late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. They then tumbled into the water, where they drowned.

Brasher says one of the bucks was an 18-pointer, while the other was a 10-pointer. Both weighed about 200 pounds.

Whitetail bucks spar during the breeding season to determine dominance, which gives the winner rights to breed with does in the area.